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Let's face it. English grammar is not exactly a topic that grips the imaginations of today's youth, nor is it the root of titillating conversation at the office water cooler. Sure, we may snicker when Susan accidentally splits her infinitive or shed a tear of refrained laughter when Bob dangles a participle, but in general we modern day Americans work as hard as we can at avoiding using lie / lay / lain or lay / laid / laid. Why is grammar so painful for us? This book is the panacea for Grammar Angst. Each of the (45) chapters is a separate, stand-alone adventure involving the indomitable Aunt…mehr

Produktbeschreibung
Let's face it. English grammar is not exactly a topic that grips the imaginations of today's youth, nor is it the root of titillating conversation at the office water cooler. Sure, we may snicker when Susan accidentally splits her infinitive or shed a tear of refrained laughter when Bob dangles a participle, but in general we modern day Americans work as hard as we can at avoiding using lie / lay / lain or lay / laid / laid. Why is grammar so painful for us? This book is the panacea for Grammar Angst. Each of the (45) chapters is a separate, stand-alone adventure involving the indomitable Aunt Ruth, her sidekick (and sometimes nauseating) nephew, and a cast of other memorable characters who pop-in now and then to join in the fun. Each story addresses a specific grammar or usage point, and the stories can be read in any order. In the back of the book is a section on common problems, where each topic discussed in the earlier chapters is further explored. Audiences of all ages will enjoy these stories. Young ones will enjoy hearing about the various messes that Aunt Ruth finds herself in; older ones will enjoy reading the dialogues between nephew and aunt; and all ages will absorb a bit of grammar while being entertained by the stories. Aunt Ruth: The Queen … comprises a multitude of grammatical points, tips, and problem areas including: Is it she likes X more than me, or is it she likes X more than I; what's the difference between onto and on to; what is a gerund and how is it used; is it have gone or have went; what is a comma splice; what is sentence fusion; what are the rules for using myself, himself, and herself; when is it bad versus badly; when is it who, whom, whoever, or whomever; how to use commas, semi-colons, and colons; how to conjugate irregular verbs; what are comparatives and superlatives … and the list continues. The book is so family friendly that it could be read in its entirety from a church pulpit without raising any eyebrows, other than those (of course) of people in the congregation wondering why today's sermon topic is about double possessives. While it is true that any grammar police person worth his or her salt will want this book as a reference, the book does not confront the reader in any sort of derogatory way. Though the nephew often tries hard to be the grammar police in correcting Aunt Ruth's errant ways, he does sometimes find himself conceding that, indeed, times have changed. When the nephew becomes too obstreperous for even Aunt Ruth to handle, she puts him back in his place with a stout, "GET OVER IT," and a whack in the head with her handy umbrella. This book follows the approach of its predecessor, I Laid an Egg on Aunt Ruth's Head. In her review of I Laid … in the Raleigh News and Observer, book columnist Pam Nelson wrote: "[Schnoor] is a kind, considerate, funny teacher who wants only for his students to improve, not to feel bad because of all they don't know." Aunt Ruth: The Queen … follows the same philosophy. Esteemed writer, linguist, radio and newspaper columnist Richard Lederer, in his review of Aunt Ruth: The Queen …, wrote, "Nobody is better than Joel Schnoor when it comes to presenting grammar dressed up to have fun."
Autorenporträt
Mr. Schnoor grew up on the Great Plains of western Iowa and Nebraska, attending the state university of the latter. Graduating and armed with a computer science B.S. degree, Schnoor worked in industry for nearly thirty years. Due to acquiring Parkinson's Disease (diagnosed at the age of 38) retired about ten years after the diagnosis. Mr. Schnoor then took up his real love, writing. Mr. Schnoor joined a couple of writing groups, and he soon noticed that many other people in these groups were struggling with various parts of grammmar that came naturally to him. As an exercise, he put together a humorous story that teaches how to use the verbs lie and lay. The story was wildly successful (within those groups) and instantly people gave him requests for other problem areas. The stories were written quickly, and in short order the first book (I Laid an Egg) was written. Then came the second book, and then the worksheets. The rest is history.Joel grew up in a family of story tellers. His list of relatives included a great grandfather who told story after story about living on the plains of Nebraska in the 1870s. Many of his great-grandfather's letters and notes have been passed on to him, and he has re-spun them to make them more accessible for today's young audience.What's next? He doesn't know the answer but is actively seeking! Any ideas?.